Walking with Jesus: Camels and Needles
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End of the year check-in! That is right. We are in the last 2 months of our church year! Advent is not that far away and Advent begins another new year. Today is the 21st Sunday after Pentecost and we are in what is called ordinary time and we might immediately think of the season as such-ordinary. But that understanding doesn’t reflect the true meaning of the season.
Ordinary, in this context, comes from the Latin term ordinalis, meaning ‘numbered’ or ‘ruled’. This title simply refers to the ongoing and rhythmical nature of the season. Just like everyday life, there is a rhythm to the days and the weeks in the church year. Christmas Time and Easter Time focus/highlight on the mysteries of our faith, the incarnation, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time, on the other hand, take us through the life of Christ. (https://stjoesmhd.com/ordinary-time)
This is a time of growing for us. Instead of being observers of the life of Christ---why not walk WITH him? During this long season maybe, we need a little exercise. So, let’s take a walk with Jesus this October
Walking with Jesus is not only good for the body, but is also good for the mind as Jesus often asks us to stretch our thinking into new possibilities and new understandings. Our walk with Jesus is also good for our senses, as we are invited to see what we had overlooked before, to hear the cries from those often kept silent, and to feel a connection with those in our community whether they are already a part of our church or not. We’re exercising our faith as we walk, faith that allows us to see the Spirit at work in us and around us all the time.
Walking with Jesus is both a spiritual journey and a way of life that invites us to embody His teachings, values, and love in the everyday moments of our lives. It is a path of discipleship marked by a commitment to living out the gospel in a world that often pulls us in the opposite direction. Our text today, which we find in the gospel of Mark, Jesus encounters the rich young ruler who asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus challenges him to go beyond mere obedience to the commandments by selling all he owns and giving to the poor. The young man’s sorrowful departure reveals the tension between worldly attachments and God’s call to radical discipleship. This encounter with Jesus on our walk presents us with an opportunity to wrestle with the complicated relationship we have with wealth in meaningful and life-giving ways.
Let’s take a second here to reflect for a moment on the sermons and teachings you’ve received about this text in the past. The Camel and the Needle. Was it used to condemn and even shame people with wealth? Was it used to promote certain attitudes about having money? How did it challenge you or help you to wrestle with wealth?
I’m definitely not here to shame anyone. But I do hope that today, as we walk with Jesus, think about what it means to embrace his life-giving ways and how we might be able to do that.
Jesus calls the rich young man to let go of his possessions, not because possessions are inherently bad, but because they can blind us to God's abundance. The church today is called to resist the temptation of consumerism, wealth accumulation, and individualism, which echo the world’s scarcity mentality. Christ invites us to trust in the abundance that God provides.
So, what would it look like to live into God’s abundance and moving from a mindset of scarcity, where we hold tightly to resources out of fear, to a mindset of abundance, where we trust that God provides enough for all. Maybe we start by trying to see the world through God’s eyes—a world where generosity flows, where the community shares, and where all are taken care of-and ways we can be a part of that!
Jesus knew that was he was asking of people—including this young man—was hard! And so he starts with LOVE. In Mark 10:21, before challenging the young man, it says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” That love is constant, even when we struggle to let go of the things that weigh us down. The church may wrestle with materialism, fear of not having enough, or the pressure to conform to societal values, but Jesus loves the church still. We can acknowledge how Jesus looks at the community—full of compassion, knowing our weaknesses, but still calling us forward in love.
There are ways we already see glimpses of God’s economy in our communities: when the church comes together to support a family in need, when we choose to prioritize justice over comfort, or when we share our resources with those who have less. These are moments when we let go of “stuff” and live in a way that God says is life-giving. And as we let go of the weight of stuff, we become lighter, freer to follow Jesus with open hands. That is what we try to do here at the church as we are stewards of the resources we have. We try using our resources not just to sustain our own day to day operations but to fuel missions of mercy, justice, and reconciliation in the world. And I have to say we do a pretty good job! We are not perfect, though. Our church property, our money, and our possessions are tools for transformation!
After reading/thinking about this text we may feel like what Jesus is asking us is impossible. In the end, Jesus reminds us that what is impossible for humans is possible with God (Mark 10:27). When the church embraces this truth, we stop relying on the power of wealth or material security and instead lean into the abundance of God's kingdom, where we are rich not in possessions, but in love, mercy, and grace. Walking with Jesus is a lifelong journey of transformation. It is about becoming more like Christ every day, learning to love, serve, and trust as He did. It’s a path marked by grace, where we fall, but always find His hand reaching out to help us up again. It’s a journey that ultimately leads us deeper into God's love and calls us to share that love with the world around us. May it be so. Amen
For Such a Time as This
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The Book of Esther holds so much within it. For those of you who might not be familiar with the story, or even if you are but haven’t heard it in a long time, it’s one that bears repeating. So a quick summary:
The Israelites are under the rule of the Persian Empire. King Ahasuerus, the Persian King, chooses young Esther to be his queen after dismissing his first queen, Vashti, for her disobedience. This is a time when women were essentially property in the eyes of the law and of the people. They had little to no say in who they married or how their lives may turn out, and yet, we read stories of women, like Esther, who prevail even under such an oppressive culture.
See, Esther is a Jewish orphan who was raised by her cousin Mordecai, but the King and the court do not know her Jewish identity. Now around the same time, a man named Haman is promoted within the kingdom and essentially becomes the king’s second in command. With that honor, he begins expecting people to bow down before him. But Mordecai refuses to do so as he is a Jew. So, when Haman learns that Mordecai is Jewish, Haman begins to plot the destruction of all the Jews living within the Persian Empire.
Mordecai learns of Haman’s plans, and in a conversation with Esther, convinces Esther to advocate for her people by approaching the king. Esther is risking her own life by choosing to do this, but she succeeds, and a young girl who happens to have access to the king, who happens to be in the right place at the right time, is able to save an entire people.
This is the story of Esther. A beautiful woman in a man’s world, she rises in royal favor, saves the King’s life (earlier in Esther). She maneuvers through the politics of court and eliminates a mortal threat to her own people. The shows extraordinary courage in identifying with her people and uncovering “wicked” Haman’s plot to kill the Jews.
By the end of the story we hear, “Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail” (9:29-32) --as proudly Jewish as she is proudly regal, feared by all under the king, immortalized in the canon of Scripture, and celebrated by Jesus for millennia. (Feasting on the Word, pg. 100)
Church, this is a powerful story. It is a story that never, once, mentions the name of God, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t all through it! It is a story of courage and hope. It is also a story that serves as the narrative source for Purim, the most joyous festival of the Jewish year. Esther conveys a message that is consistent with the entire biblical witness: the survival and salvation of God’s people—remembered and reenacted through celebrative ritual. (Feasting on the Word, pg. 98)
When we take a deeper look at Esther, she is being asked to act in a situation that she neither created nor asked for. And she is, at first, reluctant. Can you blame her?? Much like Esther, our lives today are filled with unjust circumstances and oppressive situations that we have neither asked for nor directly created.
It’s easy to feel like there’s nothing we can or should do AND perhaps, every once in a while, we still wonder: Where is God in this story? What’s God doing about these injustices? And when is God finally going to show up and change everything?
There is an old Hopi Indian saying that goes: “Perhaps we are the very ones we have been waiting for.” Perhaps we are not to sit idly by, waiting for God to show up and make a difference or give us some huge and obvious sign that tells us exactly what to do. Perhaps we are the very ones whom God will use even with our doubts and our uncertainties and our questions. That is the very case when it comes to Esther.
We know that the world isn’t as it should be, and there are steps – even small baby steps – that we can all take to set it just a little more right.
Perhaps we have been given the privilege to act, to be a doer and to participate in the ushering in of God’s kingdom. God chooses us, calls us, and claims us to do this work. Mordecai says, “For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but … who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this.”
Perhaps we have been placed in this very time, in this very place, in your very workplace, in your very neighborhood, in your school, for such a time as this. And maybe, just maybe, we have the privilege of being used as an instrument of God to help those who might need it most.
None of us has the power to change all the injustice in our world. To try to do so would be overwhelming. Yet today we are reminded that even a young woman like Esther, with her life in danger and with the very little power, still took whatever leverage she had to help save her people. She didn’t know if her plan would work. She wasn’t sure that this is even what God wanted because she didn’t get a burning bush or some voice from the heavens. And yet, she chose to advocate for those without a voice. She finds her voice. She speaks. History is changed. Perhaps that is our call.
No matter what we do for a living; no matter how old or how young we are; no matter how much or how little experience we have, we are called for such a time as this. I believe this community can help one another discern and act where and when we see the need. I believe we can encourage one another to be filled with hope and courage when the road seems hopeless and frightening.
Where do we see a need in our world today? What is God calling us to do or say this coming week? How can we do good in this moment?
Have you ever asked yourself why you were born at this particular time in history, in this particular country, in this specific part of the country? What is your purpose here? What is God seeking to do through you that God can do through no one else?
Living a Life for Others
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When strangers meet, there is a fairly standard ritual followed as they seek to get acquainted. It begins with the name, of course. Then follow the questions:
Where do you live?
Are you married and do you have a family?
Where are you from?
What is your job?
Where did you go to school?
What do you like to do?
Do you like the Bills? ☺
A stranger turns into an acquaintance and we get a sense of who the other person is when we get some context! And then as the relationship continues there are other that we might learn, like:
The values that shape their decisions and behavior.
Whether they are trustworthy, have integrity and how they treat others—do they treat others with dignity and compassion?
An acquaintance can turn into a friend and maybe into a life long friend—or even framily (this term comes from my daughter’s 4th grade teacher that means friends who become family.)
And as we know—there are always some things we will never know. Even two people who have been together for years will find there are surprises every now and then and new insights to be gained. I learned this on summer vacation as my mother stated “You can be married to a man for 50 years and still learn something new!” She was referring to my father who all of a sudden loves spicy hot foods.
Let’s keep these thoughts about relationships in mind when diving into our text in the gospel of Mark. First, some context. Mark shows us a scene that takes place a bit of time after Jesus and his disciple have begun their relationship with each other. Their relationship has had some time to develop. Jesus begins this moment in their life together by asking them what they have heard people say about him. People obviously have been talking about him, because the disciples have something to report! Then Jesus asks them a critical question: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers! From what he has come to know of Jesus, from what he has seen Jesus do, for what he has heard Jesus say, he affirms, “You are the Messiah.” We explored this very scene not that long ago-during lent as we journeyed with Peter and Jesus to the cross. He can share that Jesus is the Messiah because of all that Peter has learned thus far.
And on the basis of our relationship with Jesus, on the basis of what we have come to know of him in Scripture and in and through our faith community — and world — we make our own assessment and judgement of who he is. There are many titles we use, or descriptions we can use. We too can call him Christ or Messiah. We can call him Lord, Savior Master, Friend, Teacher, Prophet, Son of God, Redeemer. There are so many other titles!
When Peter exclaims that Jesus is the Messiah, he may have the title right but the wrong understanding of that that title means. When Jesus shares that he will suffer and be rejected and be killed, Peter does not want to hear any of that. He is looking for a Messiah who will establish God’s rule with power and authority and who will bring his followers glory and reward. So, while Peter got the answer right, his understanding is still a bit off.
We can express our understanding of who Jesus is for us in many different ways as we live out our lives; but we need to do this with humility and with an openness to understand that we may not fully understand the title we give to him. What does it mean, really mean, when we call Jesus our Savior? What does it mean for us if we call Jesus the Son of God? What does it mean for us to call Jesus our Messiah?
Jesus tells Peter that he is getting it wrong because he is not setting his mind on divine things but on human things. And to be honest, yes, he is! HE is human. We are human and we all bring with us the human perspective. But Jesus is telling us that we can set our minds on divine things. He has been showing us and modeling that for us. In and through Christ, God enables us to find a way that is different from the way of the world, enables us to discern how life is fulfilled as God intends, enables us to live by values that are not the world’s norm.
Jesus essentially put God’s perspective in front of us today—that the way to find life is to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him into a life of serving, and giving and sacrificing. Then the hope and promise: “those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
So, Fairport UMC. Who do you say Jesus is? And what kind of life are we living? Are we living our lives the way Jesus describes? A life that is cross shaped? A life focused on others? I know, this teaching is a hard one. Really hard.
As disciples, our journey is ultimately about becoming more and more like Christ. And we do this through grace. We believe that God’s call to live that kind of Christ-centered life is given to us here and now. This work of God’s grace in us is a sneak preview of heaven that blesses us (and others through us) on our way there. How beautiful is that?
Taking up our cross and losing our life means we will have to change our usual routines. It is no longer business as usual. The life and well-being of “the other” now sets our priorities, guides our decisions, and determines our actions. It’s what we see in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Losing our lives is not the end of life. It wasn’t for was Jesus and it’s not for us. It is, rather, the beginning of a new life, a more authentic life, an Easter life – a life that looks more like Jesus’ life. Who are we living for these days? May we leave this place to show the world who we are really living for.
Amen
Opening our Hearts to God
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Today’s passage from the gospel of Mark provides us with two powerful examples of individuals who, despite their differences and challenges, opened their hearts to God. I think Mark places these two stories side-by-side for a reason. And this reason centers on an interesting word in the passage, a word that itself needs to be translated because Mark chose to preserve Jesus’ original language when he wrote it down. That word is “Ephphatha”: Be opened. Openness is the key to these two encounters and one that I’d like us to think about today because openness is one of the keys to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Or---it perhaps it should be. An openness to God’s healing and grace, an openness to possibilities, an openness to one’s self and to our neighbor’s. Open verses being closed off.
For many years, faithful readers of scripture have had more trouble with the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman than almost any other story in the Gospel. And this was for good reason. Jesus does not get a free pass here. He is calling this woman a dog. It is likely he was aware of the economic hardship that many Jews in the region of Tyre experienced due to the exploits of the Gentile landowners and his rebuff of the woman may well have reflected this. Her faith in Jesus’ healing power takes him by surprise. It was probably even shocking! She accepts his priority of ministering first to the people of Israel, yet she is not satisfied with this. Her faith calls forth a larger vision of God’s mission to the Gentiles. Jesus immediately recognized the God-given wisdom of her words, changes his mind and commends her outspokenness. (Feasting on the Word).
I imagine Jesus standing there, dazed for a minute, then realizing how closed off he is being, how stuck in a cultural norm, how unlike his usual self who is always pushing boundaries and interacting with outsiders. This woman helps Jesus remember who he is! Could it be that SHE opens Jesus’ heart?
The beauty of living a life of openness is illustrated in the next encounter. People bring to Jesus a man who cannot hear and can hardly talk. Jesus looks him over, touches him, and says, “Ephphatha”: Be opened. Immediately, the man is able to hear and speak. Jesus could have said any number of things to heal this man. Or he didn’t have to say anything at all. And yet the word he chooses is a word of openness. That word has many layers, right? I’m thinking that Jesus was thinking about his interaction with the Syrophoenician woman and says Ephphatha in all of its meanings.
Be open. Really open. Jesus, the word who became flesh to live among us, was on a mission, and still is, to open the world’s eyes and ears, but also to open the world’s hearts, to soften them, so that the voice of God could be heard, with the ears of our heart.
Our hearts are not necessarily soft these days—one crazy news story after another, and our ears are hard of hearing. So, what do we do? What did Jesus do? In the case of the deaf man, it was pretty simple, really. Jesus took him aside, put his fingers into his ears, spat and touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
How can Jesus open our hearts? How does Jesus open our hearts, so that we can hear his good news, not just with our ears, but with our hearts?
For many of us we find ourselves open to receive God’s grace through our life together as a community of faith. When we come to church to learn. When we join a small group and learn together. Through Sunday school and youth group. We open ourselves to receive God’s grace when we serve other people and work for justice. We open ourselves to receive God’s grace when we come to worship and we pray together, sing together, listen together…and for many of us—music helps us to be open to God’s grace.
And so today we have an opportunity to say thank you to someone who has helped us as a church for 25 years to open our hearts to God through worship and music. Nicole, you have left an incredible mark on this faith community. Thank you.
Let us be a church where we see, and hear and experience people who have been touched by Jesus. Let us a be a church where we remind one another over and over what being open looks like! For when we open our hearts to God—we can let God fill us to overflowing with grace, healing and hope. We can then share that with the world. We, like those who witnessed the healings in our text today, won’t be able to remain silent! “People were overcome with wonder.” Fairport UMC may we be overcome with wonder! May it be so!
Amen.
Stay Strong in the Lord
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The writer Flannery O’Conner reportedly once said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you odd.” She was playing with the scripture verse where Jesus says, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” To be sure, there is freedom in knowing the truth of the Gospel. But to really know that truth, to really live the Gospel, will also make us odd. I mean, the fact that you, on a Sunday morning at 9:30 am are worshiping makes you different than most of the population. The meaning of odd: different from what is usual or expected; strange. Bring it on! Perhaps embracing it will bring us a sense of freedom that leads to the abundant life Jesus offers.
Our reading for today comes from the end of the letter where Paul tells the church to stand firm in the Christian faith and life, and in the battle against the spiritual forces of wickedness. As Paul says,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
After last week’s passage from Ephesians where Paul was talking in pretty down-to-earth language about how to lead a moral life so to have this shift in his writing is a bit jarring! A bit odd! Remember last week and our “rules for living”? Then, in today’s passage, Paul shifts, rather abruptly, to talk about the “wiles of the devil,” the “spiritual forces of wickedness,” and our need to stay strong in a cosmic battle. www.episcopalchurch.org/sermon/the-truth-will-make-us-odd
I think most of us can agree that there is evil-and injustice in the world—a force that seems against all that is good and loving. It’s out there. Our world is marred by violence, arrogance, greed and injustice. And we grieve the ways the “spiritual forces of evil” which the Paul wrote about still wreak havoc in our world today--the powers and principalities that oppose the things that God is about-- justice and peace.
When I first read this text years ago I did not love it—mostly because of the spiritual warfare imagery (which I think has been used to make people come to faith out of fear) and military language or armor/war—it just didn’t sit right with me due to our harmful past as Christians and the countless people killed in the name of Christianity.
But when you really look at this text—Yes, this is a military image but the pieces of the armor stand for very unmilitary things.
The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. We are equipped with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, spirit.
It might not seem like enough to fight a battle (for if we think about it many of are fighting battles—sometimes battles no one even knows about) …and we are assured that it is enough. We know---that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus—victory over sin and death is already ours!
This is all good news! But how does this affect our lives here and now? Because, yes, we have victory in Jesus but we still have to live in a world that is far from perfect and still wreaking havoc and real harm for many people. What do we do? When this text was written, the point was how do you fight the powers that be, such as the Roman army that has real soldiers with real weapons? Rome was a powerful force. The answer: You don’t put on weapons at all. The armor of God are all the tools of nonviolent resistance. Truth, justice, peace, salvation, faith and trust.
You confront the powers of violence with trust in God. You resist. You stand firm. You don’t give in. You don’t comply. But you also don’t use violence. We will fight against racism, sexism, poverty and every form of oppression. As we fight, we will choose compassion, we will choose hope, we will choose forgiveness, we will choose life. We will put on the full armor of God and live in truth and righteousness and peace and faith and salvation and the spirit. And in our world today, this will make us odd- different from what is usual or expected; strange. But we are called to do it anyway. And we are called to be strong in the Lord- Through it all.
That little phrase, “in the Lord”, is very important, for the Lord is the source of all true strength. Paul does not merely say, “be strong”, but “be strong in the Lord”. We are not strong in ourselves. Any strength that we do have is from God.
When I started ministry there was no lack of advice given to me—one which was if you want to make it in ministry, Richelle, you’ve got to be strong. You’re going to have to grow thick skin! Yet, when I tried--- when I’d toughen up, I became cynical and less sensitive to God and the people around me. The thick skin ----insulating myself from some of the very people I’m to serve was counterproductive. This text has become a personal mantra for me over the years as I encounter difficult times in my personal life—or in church life---or in the world around me. It’s not our job to protect ourselves with thicker skin. That makes us indifferent to the world and people around us. Instead, we need to prayerfully put on the armor God has given us. We can stand firm---not on our own---not by growing thicker skin—but knowing that God has our back. God has given us the most perfect gifts to equip us. That is where our source of strength is-- in Christ. Not in ourselves or what we can muster up. We are strong in the Lord. And that makes all the difference.
Amen
Making the Most of Our Time
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We live in a world that sometimes (ok, a lot of the time) feels out of control. The news is filled with crises after crises and it can be overwhelming. It's easy to feel like we're just passengers on a runaway train, unable to influence the direction of our lives or the world around us. Yet, amidst this chaos, the author of Ephesians offers a counter-narrative: we have purpose---encouragement to make the most of our time.
We hear, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." These words are really as relevant today as they were in the first century. We live in days marked by injustice, inequality, and a pervasive sense of spiritual emptiness/confusion. But rather than give in to despair, Paul calls us to be wise, to be intentional, and to seize the opportunities before us. Sounds even a bit like our baptismal vows to “resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”
We can’t ignore the challenges we face-and the challenges we see in the world. We are called to respond and live out our faith --faith that equips us to respond with love, courage, compassion, and hope.
Let’s consider TIME for a minute.
Time is fascinating. Clocks and calendars are concrete things. And sometimes time can be so relative. Some things seem to take forever, while others pass in the blink of an eye. When I started here Karis was starting kindergarten. If a few weeks she is off to middle school. Time flies! Then there was 2020-2021---seemed as if it lasted forever. Last night Tom gave the adults an opportunity to practice meditation for 10 minutes. I would suspect that for some of us it was a welcomed quick 10 minutes and or some it seemed like an hour! Time!!! Time slid through my hands this week as I caught up on all kinds of thing church related after vacation! When I was pregnant 9 months seemed to be a long time and a short time all at once! Time!
How do we use it wisely as Ephesians tells us? How do we make the most of our time?
Since many of us are back to school mode---In school, I remember teachers giving us assignments to complete in certain amounts of time and reminding us to “use time wisely!” – in other words, we needed to get down to work to make sure the task was complete. It’s a valuable life skill to be sure.
Time, you see, is also a theological concept. In Greek, this is reflected by the use of two different words to recognize time. The first, chronos, as in the root of our word chronological, talks about sequential and ordered time. The second, kairos, is the one we find in our text today from Ephesians, which gets at something bigger. Namely, it calls us to consider time as the right, critical, or opportune moment, particularly in relation to God’s timing and purpose.
We have been given the gift of “time” from God, but it’s up to us to make it into something purposeful: moving from chronos to kairos.
We do that by being filled with the Holy Spirit and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us what we need to help build a better community and world-to bring about more peace and justice-to love God and our neighbor with all of our being.
When we are filled with the spirit—we make a beautiful song as our hearts overflow with love. Being filled with the Spirit means our hearts speak to others with love and encouragement and indeed it is a beautiful song to the Lord—a sweet, sweet melody!
Being filled with the Spirit is also being filled with thanksgiving during good times and bad times. Gratefulness must pour from our hearts.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles
In laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
This song is from the popular musical Rent. The answer is in the chorus: Measure in love-Seasons of love-Seasons of love
Perhaps that is the answer when we boil it all down. We make the most of our time---by loving.
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
As long as ever you can.”― John Wesley
For however many seasons we are blessed with—may we love deeply. Amen.
Rules for Life
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Who has ever heard the saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”?
I’m guessing that we have shared this sentiment a few times in our lives (or had it said to us!) And yet, no matter how confident we may have sounded and no matter how much we may have wished it to be true, we likely walked away with pain from words.
A lesson we learn in life (and it doesn’t take too long to figure this out) is that – words are powerful and can lift up or tear down. They can mend a broken heart or create a broken heart. Sometimes the wounds created by words are difficult to heal. Words can stick with a person much longer than a broken bone. They can affect all parts of our selves. And words can and do divide us- in our personal relationships, in our relationships with others in the greater society, and in our relationships with others in the Church. And as we look at our passage in Ephesians today, we can tell it was the case for the church in Ephesus, as well.
While we don’t know the specific arguments among the Christians in the Ephesian church, we do know that there had been tension throughout the early years of the Church between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians because of their many differences:
theological beliefs and faith practices
what they ate and what they wore
their native languages
world-views
ethnic and cultural backgrounds
Outside of the Church, these differences were what kept Jews and Gentiles separate. And as Jewish and Gentile Christians began to worship together within the Church, it was quite difficult for them to reconcile all of this and fully embrace one another (as Christ teaches).
We can understand now why the tension was so high and why there was fighting. They couldn’t figure out how to be equal.
All of this fighting and tearing down is not the way God intended the Church to be. Throughout the first three chapters of his letter to the Ephesians, the author explains that though the Gentiles were at one time “far off… they are no longer strangers and aliens, but are citizens with the saints and also members of the [same] household of God.” In Christ we are ONE.
Paul pleads with the Ephesian Christians at the beginning of chapter 4, just before our reading for today: “As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you,” he says, “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called… making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace… For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of ALL, who is above all and through all and IN all.”
“So then,” Paul continues in our passage for today. “Let us put away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of ONE ANOTHER.”
As it was back then and is now—living out our faith is not always an easy task. But we must do it. Our faith should affect our life. What’s going on inside must be lived on the outside.
Earlier in the service we read/sang Psalm 130: This psalm expresses deep longing for God's mercy, reminding us of our need for God's grace as we strive to live out our faith. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, emphasized personal holiness, social justice, and the work of the Holy Spirit. All of this is right in line with Ephesians' call for living out our faith with love—and building a loving community based in unity.
In Ephesians we are given some rules for living…Rules that are meant to bring us abundant life.
Speak the Truth:
Paul begins by urging truthful communication. Truth-telling isn't about avoiding lies; it's about fostering genuine relationships built on trust and transparency. Truth is the foundation of authentic relationships. When we speak truth, we build trust, foster understanding, and create a space for genuine connection.
Less Anger:
Anger is a natural human emotion, but it can be destructive. Paul doesn't say to suppress anger, but to keep it in check. Anger can move us to be agents of needed change but it also has the power to destroy relationships. Let’s keep it in check!
Positive Talk
Words are powerful tools. They can build up or tear down. Words filled with - bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander - is no good for the community or for our relationships. Choosing words that build up is like planting flowers in a garden - creating beauty and life.
Be Kind and Forgiving
Kindness is like sunshine on a cloudy day. It warms the heart and lifts the spirit. Forgiveness is like releasing a captive bird. It sets us free from the chains of bitterness and resentment. Kindness is sometimes overlooked but it is powerful.
Imitating God:
The ultimate goal is to reflect the character of God in our lives. This involves cultivating love, kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness – qualities often in short supply in our world. Imitating God is no small task.
We often think of rules as restrictive, limiting our freedom. But what if rules were actually a clear way for us to make the most of our time? What if they were the GPS guiding us to a life of joy, fulfillment, and abundant purpose? The rules laid out in Ephesians –although they sound quite “preachy” --rather than confining us, open up a world of possibility and meaning. By embracing truth, love, and holiness, we can become agents of transformation in our world.
Living out these rules—and our faith isn’t always easy. It requires constant practice and growth. We will stumble, we will fall. But each time we get back up and try again, we’re moving closer to the abundant life God desires for us.
The inspiring youth and adults on Bike trip this year gave me a glimpse of what it could look like for us – as the Church – to be imitators of God, living in love, embracing that we are members of one another, and speaking the truth. I saw a glimpse of this as we communed together around Jesus’ table and as we raised our voices in the dark, singing Lord, Prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true, with thanksgiving; I’ll be a living, sanctuary for you. Indeed--Therefore be imitators of God. Amen
The Body of Christ and the New Creation
This morning I’d like to frame our time together with something from Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians. In the fifth chapter he says:
When anyone is in Christ, there’s a new creation. All the old passed away. Everything made new.
Ephesians 4:1-7, 12-13
4 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
7 God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ.
12 God’s purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Hear again what St. Paul says at the end of our reading for this morning:
God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
What does that mean? It means we need to be the grown-ups.
When I was a kid, I used to think how great it would be to be a grown-up. After all, grown-ups get to do whatever they want. That turned out not to be so not true, as many of you know. Then I thought, oh, when I’m a retired grown-up, then, I’ll get to do whatever I want. And it turns out that’s not quite true either, of course.
In any case, St. Paul has a particular vision of a grown-up or mature adult in mind. A mature adult, fully grown measured by the standard of Christ. Measured by the standard of Christ.
Not every way of life or every way of being in community leads to being this sort of grown-up. A particular set of virtues, attitudes, and habits are required.
In our passage this morning, Paul calls us to at least some of that particular set of virtues. St. Paul calls us to:
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Acceptance of one another with love
And together these virtues allow us to
Make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit that ties us together – we seek agreement, ways to work together.
These virtues are at least some of the ingredients for the recipe of being grownups living out love together. For a group to live together.
To be this sort of new creation community does not happen by accident. It happens by the cultivation of these virtues. These virtues we practice together as we worship together, work together, learn together, play together, live together.
We become grown-ups together bringing forth, living out, nurturing, and demonstrating love in our lives and our life together as the Body of Christ.
Each one of us who has been called into this project – has been given grace, not measured out by mere mortal standards, not measured out by some tiny measuring spoon, but measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. I don’t know exactly what size that is, but I can guarantee you that it’s anything but small. Each of us brings some gift of grace that strengthens, widens, and deepens the web of relationships that bind us together. These are not stingy gifts.
And hear this: we are not constrained by our own individual limitations because we are being invited into a community in which our limitations will be made up for by the grace of others and our grace will make up for the weakness of others.
God’s new creation, coming into being in and through us, takes shape as a pattern of relationships of giving and receiving according to the way of love: the way of Christ.. And further, it is God’s delight to live out that economy through us.
It is God’s delight to live out that economy through us.
This new creation is God living out God’s life in the world through us as Christ’s body.
Let’s focus just for a moment on what St. Paul means when he uses the phrase “the Body of Christ.” – when he says we have been called into the Body of Christ.
How do we understand this?
Here’s the quick take version:
Jesus – flesh and blood historical human -was the Body of Christ. Christ’s presence in the world, God’s presence in the world. The Word made flesh.
But – as the Creed says – Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. Simply put, that means that the Body of Christ left the world.
But – and here’s the critical point for us: Now we are Christ’s body, that is – God’s bodily presence in the world. We are – in Christ – God’s bodily presence in the world. We – as new creation – become together the Word of God made flesh.
This does not mean that we are the only manifestation of God’s presence in the world. But we are certainly meant to be a particular physical, bodily, real-life instantiation of God’s love in the world. Living out God’s way of radical inclusion, radical generosity, radical forgiveness leading to radical reconciliation, and radical compassion.
We are called to be an inspiration and an encouragement to the whole world to live Jesus’ way of inclusion, generosity, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion. To live out the new creation system, a new creation economy.
We can think of this new creation economy as a circle of giving and receiving: An economy of God’s abundance.
We are being called to take our place in the new creation circle of giving and receiving: our life practicing humility, gentleness, patience, acceptance, and unity. This circle takes shape as the Body of Christ, God’s presence in the world. A community of grown-ups – measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Our lives become larger and more abundant in the new creation as we help each other, encourage each other, pray for each other. Act as though we are in this together. Like we are one body.
We don’t live our this life alone. At our best, we live it celebrating together all the ways we experience and attend to the new creation that is breaking forth within us and around us.
We tend the new creation as we appreciate one another. As we open ourselves up to each other in open-hearted, prayerful, conversation and service.
Grownups by the standard of the fullness of Christ. To be the presence of Christ in the world bringing forth, living out, nurturing, and demonstrating love in our lives together.
What does that mean today?
In our particular context as we are FUMC today, we think about how we function together as a church, how we reach out to our local community and beyond. We think about how we support one another in the difficult situations that we encounter in our lives and how we celebrate our blessings together. We practice living the new creation as the Body of Christ in the world: grown-ups according by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Jesus convenes a new celebration at the Last Supper at which we recount the heritage of God’s liberating love. We recount Christ’s liberating and reconciling power that is unleashed among us and through us. We recount the Spirit’s infiltration into everything with her refreshing life.
We tend the new creation as we attend Christ’s new banquet table, always hopeful that new ties, new love, new connections are being created among us and spreading out into all the world. At this table we are nourished by the Body of Christ and thus are nourished to be the Body of Christ. We consume the Body of Christ and we are consumed into the Body of Christ.
We take our place in the new creation.
When anyone is in Christ, there’s a new creation.
All the old past away
Everything made new. Everything made new.
Glorious Grace
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
We gather today to dive into a powerful message in Ephesians. Ephesians is a letter brimming with themes of unity, love, and the power of faith. Who wrote Ephesians? Traditional scholarship attributes authorship to the Apostle Paul. However, some scholars offer a different perspective. They see Ephesians, written by a close follower of Paul, someone deeply influenced by his teachings. Imagine a student, brimming with the wisdom of their teacher, crafting a letter to inspire a new generation. The voice might differ, but the core message – the message of Christ's love and grace – remains a powerful message to us all.
Our text is a true gift for us today. I suspect that there is a message in here that many of us need to hear. There are also many (theological) questions that this text can bring to mind and even maybe wrestle with: Election? Predestination? Is God a puppet master-not giving people freedom? Is faith necessary? Are some people recipients of God’s grace and others not? Does election mean that the gospel is good news for some people and bad news for others? Are all people saved? Is salvation universal? These are just a few of the questions that might be swirling around in your head after hearing the text. Questions are always good but unfortunately we are not tackling these questions morning (feel free to discuss over brunch/lunch today!).
We are going to spend some time basking in the theology of grace.
Ephesians for many is a song of hope-and message yes, of grace, for also a message to strengthen the church of Jesus Christ---to be faithful in serving him. We are reminded again and again of who we are and whose we are and brought back to the sheer joy of living as God’s people.
How can one not like the beginning of our text: it’s a pouring out of beauty and riches. Abundant blessing and glorious grace- are lavished upon us for God’s pleasure. This is no whim of God but planned before the foundation of the earth! God has chosen us to be holy and blameless in love, forgiven and redeemed through Christ. Imagine the riches showered upon us – not earthly treasures, but spiritual blessings that empower us to live a life transformed.
We aren't chosen because we're inherently good; we're chosen in Christ, through his sacrifice and love. This is prevenient grace, God's love reaching out before we even knew to seek it. This is a big deal for United Methodists. John Wesley believed, as did many of the theologians of the Reformation, that our salvation is only possible because God moves toward us by offering grace. Now, in some Christian traditions, salvation is mainly about being saved from something—like going to hell when you die.
Wesley would say, however, that while we do need saving from sin and its consequences, we are perhaps even more so saved for something as well. God’s grace works in us to shape us into people who are holy and set apart as people who reflect God’s own image. God’s grace enables us to become the people we were created to be from the beginning—a people who can walk with God and know the power of God in our own lives in the present.
Wesley was concerned as much about how we live as about how we die, and his theology was less about a formula for getting people into heaven than it was about a way to get heaven into people. This is the way of grace.
Wesley would say that God’s grace comes to us in three movements, which he called prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. Everything that Methodist Christians do and believe flows forth from this understanding of grace.
Today’s text is really about prevenient grace. It comes from the Latin praevenire, which means to “come before, proceed, or anticipate.” Prevenient grace is the grace that “comes before” our knowledge and love of God. It is the grace that God offers to us even before we know who God is or what God is up to. Prevenient grace recognizes that God has known us and cared for us from the very beginning of our lives. It is front and center in our baptisms. We are claimed as God’s own. To understand this kind of love and grace I want to you to think of a person who has made you feel loved. For me it is many people but I want to share about my grandma.
My grandma Helen was so very special to me. She lavished her love on her grandchildren when they came to visit- me included. See, each of her 4 grandchildren could come spend one whole week away from their parents (and rules/chores) and just be loved on by grandma and grandpa. There were special treats, special meals prepared—ones I loved like macaroni and cheese, special gifts, special trips—like the big trip to Watertown and eating lunch at the Chinese Restaurant. There were raft rides on the lakes. There were lazy afternoons playing rummy cube and swims in the lake with grandma. There was staying up late and eating popcorn. By the end of the week I knew I was precious. I was, beyond any doubt, absolutely convinced I was loved.
Ephesians reminds us of God’s love for us, and the flowing words of our passage envelop us with that kind of love; excessive, tender, richly abundant, glorious, and prevenient. Grace is what defines us. We are chosen people—Christians are a chosen people--not because we are perfect, but because of God’s unconditional, unmerited, and unbounded grace. We don’t hate people who aren’t like us; we don’t see faith as a formula. We trust instead in God’s grace for us and for the world, because God is the one who chooses God’s people. We proclaim that grace through our worship and service-through the way we move and live in this world.
So, yes we may have lots of questions that remain with us this morning about this grace—about election, predestination, and salvation but maybe it is enough, today, this moment, to soak in the wonder of being God’s beloved and the glorious grace that is ours . In the words of the old hymn we just sang a few weeks ago: All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?” Amen
Two by Two
Scripture: Mark 6:1-13
Watch the sermon on YouTube (apologies for the sound issue)
Who is this Jesus? That is the question that Mark continues to raise throughout the gospel this summer. We’ve seen it the last few weeks haven’t we? When Jesus stills the storm on the Sea of Galilee, those in the boat with him wonder, “who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?” When he brings Jairus’s daughter from death to life, those who witness it are “overcome with amazement”. In our story today it is not those who are encountering Jesus for the first time but those who have known him for years who are asking the same question about Jesus’ identity. And it isn’t a great response. Is it?
Let’s back it up a bit. Jesus has been out and about—performing great miracles both on the shore and on the sea and he returns back home! And then he goes to where any good Jewish teacher would go—the Temple. I’m guessing that most of the people are not expecting little Jesus who grew up around the corner or “Jesus the carpenter”—in the role of a wise prophet of God. His teachings astound them but they obviously strike a nerve when we hear “And they took offense at him.” As they try to figure out what is going on in front of them—they come to the conclusion that this is still the same ‘ol Jesus they’ve always known—one of us—not any kind of miracle worker!
But why not? Why not believe that he could be a miracle worker? Why such snarky-negative-jealous responses? Which then turns Jesus’s response not so nice either. Could it be that this is a reminder of how HUMAN they all are?
Think about it. How might we have reacted? How open would we be to someone being so very different than we knew? What would we think about a neighbor whom we believed to be just an ordinary hardworking man turning into a miraculous teacher? Let alone the Son of God? I would have to guess that we all would have our fair share of skepticism. We tend to see what we expect to see. The people of Nazareth expect to see the Jesus they have always known-the one who seems no different from them. When Jesus preaches with wisdom and preforms deeds of power, the people of Nazareth cannot see beyond their own limited view of him. They are stuck.
Perhaps one of the questions that God is laying on our hearts today is: Whom do we take for granted? What wisdom, what deeds of power are we missing because we make judgments about how and through whom God’s work can be done?
We hear that Jesus is rendered powerless---powerless by those who doubt his calling—about those who are unwilling to believe the great things God can do. I’m guessing in most of our lives there have been missed opportunities and lost blessings because of our limited faith. Times when we just couldn’t see what was right in front of us.
And because the people in Jesus’s hometown could not see what was right in front of them, he was rejected. And this rejection sets into motion the mission of the 12 and even their potential rejection. Basically Jesus is saying- If it can happen to me then it can happen to you! He tells them “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them”. We definitely can’t’ help but be reminded of Jesus’ experience in Nazareth. Jesus keeps on going and the disciples are told to persist in their work in in Jesus’ name.
We will never be able to control someone’s receptiveness or their reactions to our work in Jesus’ name but we are responsible for our own faithfulness. And if we can hold tight to that then we can go about our ministry boldly and faithfully.
Jesus did not stop being himself when the people close to him rejected him. He did not stop his ministry. Instead, he moved forward to another town where he would be accepted. He continued to do his work, sending his disciples to the world. He even gave instructions to his disciples: Shake off the dust before you leave. This is the message for all of us. If people reject our acts of love for our neighbors, let us shake off the dust of disappointments on our feet: their rejection of our actions is the testimony against them. Let us not retreat to our little corners, but move forward to places where our actions and messages will be accepted. Like Jesus and his disciples, rejection should drive us to continue ministering to the world and to show God’s love to all.
The disciples’ journey wasn't always smooth sailing. They, in fact, faced rejection, ridicule, and even violence. Yet, they persevered. Because they were in it together. Because they were in it together. The call to persevere in ministry extends to us as well. Following Christ won’t always be easy. There will be times when sharing our faith feels daunting or the challenges seem overwhelming. But just like the disciples, we are not meant to walk this path alone. We do this together.
How can we live out this message today?
Find your person/people/small group: Seek out a fellow sibling in Christ who can be your confidant and encourager. To cheer one another on and to pray for one another.
Share the load: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We can all learn from and support one another. You have a whole church of people with amazing gifts and graces.
Celebrate victories: Take time to acknowledge the positive impact we are having, big or small.
Remember: We are part of a larger community, the body of Christ. Together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can persevere in sharing the message of hope and love.
Let us go forth, “two by two” in spirit, supporting and encouraging each other, as we continue the mission Jesus entrusted to us all. Amen.